From the fruit crate to digital inspection

The demands for quality, traceability, and process reliability are increasing in manufacturing industry. With the MELA demonstration line, Montech and its partners are demonstrating how even sensitive products can be tested reliably and automatically – flexibly, hygienically, and precisely.

A critical eye, a practiced touch – that’s how quality control in the food industry began in the past. In many operations it was customary to take the products out of the box individually, turn them, and inspect them. Good or not good – the decision was often a from-the-gut decision, depending on experience, how someone was feeling that day, and lighting.

Automated quality control

Today, the question in the food industry is different. How can quality be controlled objectively, seamlessly, and efficiently – even for sensitive products such as fresh fruit? The MELA demonstration line provides a possible answer to this question. VisionLink, Mechatronic, Lexter Italia, and Montech developed it together and presented it at this year’s SPS Italia 2025 trade fair in Parma.

When technology tests objectively – and thinks along at the same time

Using apples as an example, MELA demonstrates how modern conveyor technology is becoming a central component for intelligent quality control. Nine test stations analyze a wide range of a product’s characteristics, from the surface structure to the volume. No step is left to chance; no assessment is subjective. The entire process runs automatically, reliably, and reproducibly.

Conveyor technology for the greatest accuracy

Precisely coordinated conveyor technology is required in order for this precision to be possible at all. Montech’s LTE transfer system performs this task: It transports the products reliably and accurately through all stations. Even with short stops or changes in direction, the products remain exactly where they need to be – guided solidly by mechanical supports on the pallets.

Flexible, scalable, connectable

What makes the MELA system special is not only the technology itself, but its openness: The line’s modular design allows processes to be adapted, extended, or integrated into existing environments. This is an advantage that particularly counts in heterogeneous production environments.

What used to require experience is now a system

The MELA demonstration line does not replace experience – it transforms it into structured, digital processes. The critical eye remains, but today cameras perform visual inspections. The evaluation is no longer done from the gut; instead, it’s data-based and reproducible. The goal remains the same: The highest product quality. But the means are more modern and the possibilities more diverse. That was exactly what impressed visitors at the trade fair. While once fruit was taken from the fruit crate and inspected manually, now the process is automatic via the conveyor belt. MELA makes visible what is already a technological reality – and it provides a realistic look at the future of quality control.